Defending champions Ranchi Rays shelled out $238,000 to strengthen their team for the forthcoming Hockey India League season, roping in star dragflicker Sandeep Singh and Australian goalkeeper Tyler Lovell in the HIL Auction.
The Rays had already retained core players from their last season’s squad, namely skipper Ashley Jackson, Barry Middleton, Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, Manpreet Singh and Fergus Kavanagh.
Having roped in the likes of Lovell and Sandeep, the Rays would be heading into the new season with a lot more firepower. Sandeep is one of the best dragflickers in India, while Lovell was the star performer for the squad last season.
Apart from Lovell and Sandeep, the Ranchi Rays also added Vikramjit Singh, Flynn Ogilvie, Tim Deavin, Trent Mitton and Daniel Beale into the squad. Despite signing star players, the Ranchi Rays went back with $68,500 in their wallet by adding two players from the draft.
Commenting on the auction Harendra Singh, Head Coach, Ranchi Rays said: Strikers are more in demand as compared to mid-fielder or any other player. We are lucky to have Vikramjit Singh as he is one of the upcoming players and for Hockey India League he will prove to be a surprise package. It was tough to choose amongst the Indian players as compared to the foreign players.
Players Added by Ranchi Rays in HIL Auction:
Vikramjit Singh – $4500
Flynn Ogilvie – $10000
Akash Chitke – $4500
Tyler Lovell – $30000
Imran Khan – $7000
Daniel Beale- $26000
Sumit Kumar- $15000
Sumit- $17000
Sandeep Singh- $81000
Tim Deavin- $29000
Trent Mitton- $20000
Mohd Amir Khan- $10500